Dear Dad
by OneManApocalypse
Summary: Why did you leave me alone? Was I never good enough? Did you know I'd grow up to fail in so many league championships? Did you know that I wouldn't be as good as you? I... I'm sorry. I'm so... sorry. I know that maybe I wasn't what you wanted, but please, come home. If not for me, than for Mom. She needs someone, and I don't think I can be that someone. Please, come home.


Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon.

_So I know what you are thinking. How can I work on two different stories? Truthfully, I can't. But this is going out purely because I figured there would be no other chance for me to put this out without forgetting it. Surprise, it's a one-shot, but I suppose if enough people want more, it'll become more. So, review heavily if you want more but reviewing in general is nice.  
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_This is not co-related with Whispering Secrets.  
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_So if you don't like it, okay, no flaming, that's all I ask. If you do, feel free to leave a comment. I might add to this later on.  
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_This might be OCC, but just bear with it, it's only one story.  
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_**Note: If you go to Youtube and search "Gothic Storm- Forever Alone" and listen to it while reading, it makes this so much more. Just a friendly tidbit. Enjoy!**  
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Dear Dad,

It's been awhile, hasn't it? I turned 16 yesterday... but I suppose you wouldn't know that, would you? Do these letters even find you? Do they just get lost in the wind, forever drifting around the sky, hoping to one day reach their recipient?

Anyways, yeah, I turned 16. I didn't have a party, as usual. None of my friends know about my birthday. They've asked, but I always manage to divert their attention. I wonder why... maybe I just don't want the attention. So I just celebrated it with the Pokémon I had with me; and Pikachu managed to organize some small party-thing. Sometimes, he surprises me with his knowledge of humanly affairs.

I've told you about Pikachu, right? He's my best friend... he's _always _been there for me. Well, since I turned 10. You wouldn't know, but Pallet Town never really held many friends for me. Gary... he was okay, but as he got closer to 10, he got more and more arrogant and seemed to forget about our "friendship". I haven't seen Leaf in a long time, though.

I don't think I've told you about Leaf... or about anything, really. Usually, I just tell you about the journey thus far, and that's about it. Simple and nothing to it.

But... well, Leaf is, or was, a good friend of mine. She was always making me blush and she knew how to cheer me up. Her dad and mom were divorced though, and so she would move between Pallet and Celadon City. Because of that, I didn't see her too often.

I think I'll try and catch up with her after sending this, though. Outside of her, though, I didn't have any friends. Gary always seemed to surround himself with girls and when he'd go to school in Viridian (a place too expensive for Mom to send me), he'd come back with all these really cool people. They never talked to me though.

Pikachu was the first friend I had that stuck by me- after we got over our differences, of course. We haven't left each other's side yet! He's my best buddy.

There's Brock, who is arguably my second best friend. He's human, but he's a bit older and very into finding a girl. He commonly loses sight of things because he's trying to flirt. Too bad it never works out for him; he's a nice guy. We started traveling in Kanto, when I first began. I don't know if you knew this, but he's the gym-leader of Pewter City. He's pretty strong, but he's a better doctor than anything else. He started dating the Pike Queen Lucy! How incredible! Brock ended up getting pretty lucky, I'll tell you that.

When I met Brock, I'd already been traveling with Misty, the red-headed gym-leader of Cerulean. I might've mentioned her, too. She was probably the first girl I really spent time with; and _really _got to know. She's a nice girl, but her temper is pretty fierce. I don't think even Charizard's temper can match her's. People used to joke that we'd date, but I don't really feel it. She's got Tracey, as well. I was pretty naive when I first met her, so girls weren't among my top priority list. Now is different. Still, I'm a good friend of hers.

Then there's May. May was an opposite of Misty in a lot of ways. For one, she ate a lot- almost as much as I did. Maybe even more. May's... a great person. She's really nice, really caring and a great coordinator. Don't tell Dawn, but I think May's a bit better. She didn't like Pokémon at first, though, so I ended up coaching her. She's gotten impressively strong, but battles with a trainer's edge in a Contest, making her unpredictable. She was the first girl I think I liked. She was always so different... maybe I liked her, but I dunno. She's got Drew now, so I'm not really there anymore.

Her brother Max just started his journey, but he's really smart. He's a bit of a know-it-all, but he's got a big heart and loves Pokémon just as much as I do. He was fun to travel with, but I can't wait to see him again, he's got to be pretty strong now. I know he aspires to be a Gym-leader, and not just any gym leader, but the leader of Petalburg City's gym. He'll do great. Last I heard, he was hooking up with some girl. I think her last name was Winstraite or something?

Dawn. She was like May in a lot of ways; they both loved shopping, and contests. Dawn didn't eat as much, and was more concerned about her appearance, which was kind of annoying at times, but she wasn't too bad. I think she was bossy at times, but it was all like a motherly sort of bossy. Her Piplup always seemed to portray that, too. She's a great coordinator, too, and I believe she took second at the Grand Festival. It's pretty awesome how well she did. She and my rival, Paul, got together though. She's changed him in a lot of ways.

Finally, Iris and Cilian. Iris was a wild-child, and she's now the leader of the Opelucid Gym, a Dragon-typed gym. She was always a fantastic Dragon trainer and I think her Axew finally evolved. She's got a skill with those guys, even if she fears Ice-types. She was always calling me a kid and trying to say I was too spastic, but I think she knew that I was that way because I didn't want to slow down. You're only a kid once.

Cilan was like Brock in the sense that they both knew cooking like a second passion. But Cilan was an expert Pokémon Connoisseur and could tell a bond between person and Pokémon like no one else. He was the gym-leader of Striaton City, and he had a Pansage that was always helping him cook. After the Unova World Championship, he went back home to finish his training in the gym and open his own Connoisseuring palace.

You're probably wondering why I told you about them. Well... it's because, each of them taught me something- something that _you _should have. They were each a part in my growing, and even if they didn't know it, they still taught me. So I owe each of them something large in my heart.

But now... they're gone. They don't have time for me, anymore. They've got their own goals and their own lives they live now, and Ash Ketchum is no longer a part of them.

You see? I'm alone. Mom is alone.

You won't come home... you never _did _come home. You... you left.

I needed you, Dad. I needed you so desperately. How I wish I had a father to play catch with, or, to teach me about Pokémon, or even let me play with his own. They say you were a trainer. So why did you never come home? Why did you leave Mom like that?

Why did you leave me alone?

Was I never good enough? Did you know I'd grow up to fail in so many league championships? Did you know that I wouldn't be as good as you?

I...

I'm sorry.

I'm so... sorry.

I know that maybe I wasn't what you wanted, but please, come home. If not for me, than for Mom. She needs someone, and I don't think I can be that someone. Please, come home.

From,

Ash Ketchum


End file.
